RANS Rifle Idler Kit

The Rifle is a fast, sleek bike that deserves a nice idler. This kit replaces the entire idler system—shaft, chain keeper, and all—with high performance upgrades. Choose from the smooth, durable Sport Series with exactingly machined 7075AL cog or really go for it with a jaw-droppingly beautiful, ultra CNC machined Ti cog and ceramic bearing Elite Series Idler. Both will have you, and your Rifle, purring down the road like never before. All stainless shafting and mounting hardware, easy adjust CNC machined clamp on chain keeper. An upgrade you'll appreciate for a long, long time.

FAQ

1. What makes this better than the stock idler and mount?

Several things. First, the idlers: with low drag bearings and carefully machined ultra durable cogs, with teeth profiles specifically designed for idler applications. Nice looking, too, particularly the Elite version, with it's no holds barred functional elegance. They truly make your drivetrain something to be proud of. Second, the all new mount. The idler runs on a stainless bolt, with a stainless coupler bushing and stainless fixing bolt. No more aluminum shaft- stainless all the way. And thirdly, the chainkeeper is an amazing piece of easy to live with engineering. No more struggling with lining up idlers and chains and chainkeepers all at once. You simply install the idler, then lift the chains into position. The chainkeeper slides on at the end, locking in place with it's own pinch clamp. Whenever you need to do chain maintenance, the chainkeeper pops on and off with the idler untouched and still in place.

2. Tell me more about how the mount is different.

The stock mount has a plain steel bolt with a 5/8" aluminum sleeve on it. The idler rides on the sleeve, and the bolt goes through the teardrop idler mount tube and out the other side. A nut on the outside holds it on, and an aluminum sleeve inside the mount tube keeps it from crushing. Sturdy enough, but not particularly elegant. That, and the aluminum sleeve the idler runs on is softer than the idler bearing. Over time, the idler will wear a groove and stop floating. The new mount is all stainless, with an industry standard 8mm shaft. A specially made 8mm threaded stainless coupler nut fits up inside the idler mount tube and serves to anchor the idler shaft. The coupler nut is locked to the mount tube by a stainless button head bolt from the non drive side. It has a very finished look, with no protruding threads and nothing rustable. The shaft is very hard and it would take a very long time to measurably wear it.

3. Will I be faster?

Everyone asks that question. Sure, you will be, a little bit. All the little things add up- lower drag bearings, precision cog shape, easier side to side float, more inboard float range (nice if you do lots of climbing). Are they little things? Yes, sure, they are. But hey, a little bling, a little speed, a little less to wear out- add it up over thousands of miles and you're way ahead.

INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS

Installation involves removing the old idler and mounting parts using a 6mm allen wrench and a 13mm end wrench. Installation requires 6mm, 5mm, and 4mm allen wrenches and a 13mm end wrench.

To install, first slide the coupler nut up inside the aero profile idler mount tube using the 13mm end wrench as a handle. As the inside of the coupler nut lines up with the hole in the mount, slide the 4mm allen wrench into the opening and wiggle it around to line the coupler up with the hole. Thread the short 8mm button head bolt in from the left ( non drive) side of the mount and tighten it securely.

Next, thread the idler shaft bolt into the idler mount from the drive side and tighten it securely. When it is in place, swing the power side chain under the idler and lay it on the cog. Lift the return chain up onto the grey urethane return bed.

Once the chains are in place, slide the chainkeeper onto the head of the bolt. Line the arms of the chainkeeper up with the apex of the chains and tighten the pinch bolts with the 4mm allen wrench. That's it!

No maintenance should be required other than occasional cleaning with a paper towel or soft cloth. We recommend keeping solvents and soap and water away from the bearings, they don't need aggressive cleaning and solvents and soaps tend to go after the grease in the bearings. It's water resistant, but solvents and soaps are harder to deal with.

ADDITIONAL INFO

Your choice of Sport Series or Elite Series over/under idler. The Elite Series is as beautiful as it is hard working. It's sculpted titanium cog carries the power side load to twin hybrid ceramic bearings. Over on the return side, chain support duties are handled by a super tough urethane chainbed riding on a CNC machined carrier. Elegantly styled sideplates keep the chain in line.

The Sport Series idler also has a solid metal core, but with a 7075 aluminum cog mated to long running twin ABEC 7 steel bearings. Tough, glass reinforced molded sideplates make up the main body of the idler. Again, a urethane chainbed carries the return side chain. Flush mounted stainless fasteners with Nylock nuts lock everything together.

This kit completely replaces the stock idler mount and chainkeeper with an all stainless mounting system and a clever, easy to use clamp on chainkeeper. The all stainless mount is self explanatory- super durable and it doesn't care about rain and corrosion. The significance of the chainkeeper bears some explaining though.

A CNC machined clamp on chainkeeper seems like overkill, but with thousands in the field, we think you will come to really like it. It does a lot of things and makes a lot of things very simple. For instance, since it clamps on to the head of the stainless idler bolt, it's not necessary to capture it on the inside, against the idler mount. This means the idler can float to the inside a little farther, making the chain just that much straighter when you're climbing in low gear.

When you go to install the idler, the chainkeeper isn't there- it doesn't have to go on until you're all done. So, no more messing with lining up idlers and chains and chainkeepers as you try to get the idler bolt into the mount. Simply mount the idler, then put on the chains, and then put on the chainkeeper. Much easier. And lastly, whenever you want to do something to your chain, all you have to do is pop the chainkeeper off. Everything else stays on- the idler, the mount, everything. Remove the chain, clean it, put a new one on, whatever- and then pop the chainkeeper back on. Seems like a small thing, but it makes things much easier and removes a considerable source of frustration.

Idler bearings are industry standard 608 size (8mm ID, 22mm OD, 7mm thick). Elite Series bearings are stainless hybrid ceramics, and Sport Series bearings are ABEC 7 rated steel bearings. Both are time proven and will last for many thousands of miles.

The Elite cog is 6Al/4V titanium, 15T. The Sport cog is 7075 Aluminum, also 15T. The Elite Series idler weighs in at a svelte 106 grams, lighter than any other 15T Over/Under idler. The Sport Series idler weighs slightly more at 108 grams.

The outside diameter is 2.75 inches, or 70mm. The width is 1.08 inches or 27.4mm.

The cogs are precision machined, but there is a break-in period while the cog and the chain get to know each other. After that, you can expect your idler to last many, many thousands of miles before needing service.

In case of damage, all parts are individually replaceable. Contact us for details.

We use stainless fasteners because we know you don't want things rusting.

Bearing Care: The bearings are shielded, not sealed. Shielded bearings have less rolling resistance because the seal, while super close, doesn't actually rub. True sealed bearings are rare, when people talk about "sealed bearings", they usually actually mean shielded. These are top quality shielded bearings and will last a long time. What kills bearings is solvent, dirt, and water intrusion. As long as you don't spray things on the bearing faces, you will be OK. Regular amounts of dust and dirt getting on the outsides of the bearings won't be a problem, as it's hard for it to get past the shields (the shields really do come *very* close to the bearings). When you clean them, what you want to do is gently wipe dirt off and away from bearings, rather than rub aggressively and push the dirt past the shields. There is no need to lube the bearings, the special grease that's in them is what they need.

This idler kit is a direct replacement for the stock over/under idler setup on a RANS Rifle or other RANS bikes with a similar mount. We recommend this kit instead of simply replacing the idler with a 5/8" bearing Sport or Elite idler because of the improvements and simplifications to the mount and chainkeeper.